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Cryptocurrency is a hot topic that has been on the rise since Bitcoin, first started back in 2008. There has been a lot of buzz about the future of cryptocurrency, blockchain technology, and all the potential these new paradigms have to change the world. From changing how the world does business, to changing the way individuals handle their money and investments, cryptocurrency has already had a big effect on modern-day society and had even more impact on the developing nations.
Not everyone shares the excitement and optimism about cryptocurrency, though. Some are concerned about dangers of fraud and what decentralized, digital currencies could mean. Others aren’t as worried about the cryptocurrency itself, but are more concerned with the saturation of the market, the ability of certain cryptocurrencies to withstand crashes, and the effect that crashes will have on some economies. Others have even warned about crashes, but believe that it will actually be a good thing in the long-run and will have a positive impact on the economy in the end.
In early January, a number of cryptocurrencies experienced a downturn, including Ripple. While it’s still yet to be determined whether cryptocurrencies will continue to fall, what effect this crash will have on our economy, there is no shortage of concerns and opinions being shared across the Internet. With so much information out there and so many people discussing the subject, we decided to narrow it down to the top three most engaging, liked, and disliked articles, and the top three most liked and disliked comments on the subject. With articles and pieces from before the crash and through now, we were able to get a better idea of what it was that people were excited about, what it is that they agree with, and more.
To get this information, we used SolidOpinion’s Comment 1000 technology to mine reader commentary on sites across the web from January 5th through January 12th 2018. Here’s what the comment technology gleaned:
Top Three Most Engaging Pieces
The top three most engaging pieces were all threads on Reddit, under the Daily Ripple/XRP Discussion Thread. They were always posted by an AutoModerator, and covered the topics of Questions and Price Predictions.
- Daily Ripple/XRP Discussion Thread 01/03/18 [Questions and Price Predictions]. This Reddit Discussion Thread received 128 upvotes and 1,670 comments, with a count of 1,300.
- Daily Ripple/XRP Discussion Thread 01/04/18 [Questions and Price Predictions]. This Reddit Discussion Thread received 71 upvotes and 1,315 comments, with a count of 1,250.
- Daily Ripple/XRP Discussion Thread 01/09/18 [Questions and Price Predictions]. This Reddit Discussion Thread received 96 upvotes and 1,431 comments, with a count of 1,138.
Top Three Most Liked Pieces
The top three most liked pieces were all threads on Reddit, all started before the Ripple crash. One shows the support for a Reddit user when they shared the news that they became a Ripple millionaire (which has since been removed) while another simply discusses Ripple’s standing, and the last demands an explanation to chatter they’ve been hearing (which has also been removed).
- I just became a Ripple millionaire. This thread was started on Reddit in the CryptoCurrency and received 10,613 likes.
- Ripple at second place by market cap: surpassed Ethereum! This thread was started on Reddit in the CryptoCurrency section and received 9,443 likes.
- Keep Hearing ‘XRP will hit $1000’. Guys, that’s about 1/3 of the entire world GDP. Has everyone gone mad!?!? This thread started in the Ripple section and received 7,302 likes.
Top Three Most Disliked Pieces
The top three most disliked pieces were also Reddit threads two of which started before the Ripple crash. Two of the posts shared the market stats for Ripple and where it placed in comparison to other cryptocurrencies while the other was a regular discussion thread.
- Ripple at second place by market cap: surpassed Ethereum! This thread received 663 dislikes total.
- ETH has passed $900 and has retaken the #2 market cap spot from XRP. This thread received a total of 555 dislikes.
- Daily Ripple/XRP Discussion Thread 01/09/18 [Questions and Price Predictions]. This thread received 540 dislikes.
Top Engaging Domains
Despite widespread media coverage of Ripple and cryptocurrencies, Reddit, YouTube, and news.bitcoin.com all secured more engagement than other prominent sites like TechCrunch and Marketwatch. Reddit threads pertaining to Ripple secured over 50,000 engagements, followed by YouTube with 2,900 engagements. Reddits dominance in sparking conversation on Ripple and cryptocurrency is fitting. Reddit contributors respond to one another, rather than the singular voice of an outlet or editor, thus creating a massive conversation.
Consumers are still trying to make sense of how cryptocurrency fits into their lives and it makes sense that consumer-driven threads are fueling global discussion.
Additionally, the most engaging articles also belong to Reddit. For a form of currency built on a decentralized ledger system, the conversation that is following is also taking place on forums and sites that are not driven by singular owners. These websites empower individuals to step forward and offer their own contributions.
As cryptocurrencies grow increasingly prolific, it will be interesting to track whether these conversations remain on websites that are designed to encourage individual content creators to share their voices, or if audiences will begin to engage more with mainstream media coverage of cryptocurrency.
Sentiment
In addition to tracking individual comments and engagements, SolidOpinion’s technology can also determine sentiment across the web. From January 4th-January 11th, as coverage of Ripple rolled out, consumer response to these stories remained largely positive at 58.6%. While positive sentiment does not necessarily indicate consumer trust in Ripple or even the coin’s future success, it may however reveal that despite the dramatic drop of this coin, consumer interest level in cryptocurrency is still piqued.
What’s so interesting about the Internet’s reaction to Ripple’s unsteady valuation is, that even though rates have plummeted, and although the long-term effects of Ripple’s market crash and the future of cryptocurrency may not be entirely certain, it’s clear that in spite of unsteady valuation and murky future, consumers across the web are still displaying interests regarding the potential of cryptocurrencies — whether they are Ripple, Bitcoin, or other emerging Coins — to transform how we create and distribute money.
No one can predict how the next few months will turn out for Bitcoin and other decentralized tokens, but we do know that consumers increasingly invested in tracking the viabilities of established and emerging coins. As a democratized form of currency, the future success of digital coins hinges on consumer awareness, and ultimately trust, which can only be cultivated through ongoing conversation.
What do you think will happen with cryptocurrency going forward? How do you think it will affect the economy?
Disclosure:
The author has had a working or personal relationship with one or more companies mentioned in this article in the past. Access to mentioned company’s management and information was made through the author’s personal network. All information was vetted prior to posting.
Disclaimer:
This essay is not intended to be a source of investment, financial, technical, tax, or legal advice. All of this content is for informational purposes only.
Here’s What the Internet Is Saying About Ripple’s Cryptocurrency Crash was originally published in Hacker Noon on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not reflect the views of Bitcoin Insider. Every investment and trading move involves risk - this is especially true for cryptocurrencies given their volatility. We strongly advise our readers to conduct their own research when making a decision.